June 2004—This year’s International Sign Show (ISA) in Orlando, Florida was a success all around. The show experienced record attendance – over 17,000 attendees – and featured just under 1,500 booths of products, technologies and enthusiasm.

As Digital Output walked the show floor this year, the overwhelming response to the question "How is the show going" was a big "great!" Vendors reported that attendees were there to buy, and many told us that they expected to see an influx of orders the first few weeks after the show, as companies went home and made final decisions based on what they saw. Most companies also told us that this was just a continuation of what appears to be a strong upward cycle – ever since the fourth quarter of last year, sales are up, more new products are coming to market and more printers are looking to invest in new equipment and all the media and supplies that go with it.

While we couldn’t cover all the companies who exhibited and products that debuted at the show, here is a sampling of some of the ones that caught our eye:

Océ
Océ had several new printers on display at ISA this year: the Arizona T220UV flatbed printer; the Arizona 600 mid-sized solvent production printer; and the entry-level Arizona 60UV.

The Arizona T220UV is a flatbed inkjet unit that can print directly onto both rigid and flexible substrates. It will accept media up to 2-inches thick, 62x120-inches in size. It will be available in the second quarter of 2004, and will carry a list price of $211,755.

The Arizona 600 will accept media up to 75-inches wide and features addressable dpi of 618x618 and 309x309, at speeds ranging from 125-500 square feet per hour. This unit will also be available in the second quarter for $128,995.

Océ’s Arizona 60UV addresses a market that was previously not addressed – it is an entry-level hybrid inkjet printer. For a list price of $39,995, including setup, shipping, training and warranty among other things, it will accept both rigid and roll-based media using UV technology. It will accept rigid media up to 3/8-inches thick and in widths of 64-inches for rigids and 60-inches for roll materials. This unit will be available in the third quarter of this year.

Roland
Roland made news at the show with its new SOLJET SJ-1000EX – and at 104-inches it is the company’s first foray into the grande format market. This is also the fastest machine Roland has brought to market to-date, capable of printing up to 484 square feet per hour at 360 dpi. The new machine uses the company’s Eco-SOL solvent ink, and runs dual sets of CCMMYK. Priced at $69,995, the unit is expected to begin shipping some time in July.

Mutoh
Mutoh America debuted the Falcon Outdoor Junior, a 36-inch printer designed for printing on uncoated media. It carries a list price of $10,995, and uses Mutoh’s Eco-Solvent inks. It uses the same technology and hits the same speeds as the full-size Falcon printers, but provides a less expensive alternative for those just looking to break into the inkjet market.

Lyson
Lyson had several new products at ISA this year. The company just released a line of inks for the Scitex grand format printers, as well as new inks for Mimaki and Epson printers.

The company also debuted a new 87-inch version of the Tiara Opal II solvent inkjet printer. The Opal II, which joins a 64-inch model, produces 720 dpi output directly onto normal uncoated sign materials at up to 140 square feet per hour. It uses an eight-channel ink system and is capable of producing materials that, the company tells us, do not need to be laminated reducing material costs.

Durst
Durst was showing their Rho 160W Plus at ISA this year – running it with their new white ink. Durst gained quite a bit of attention, as they have tweaked the inks slightly since their debut at PMA in Las Vegas, for a more opaque, solid color. At the show they ran black media through the unit to demonstrate just how strong their white really is. As is always the case with Durst units, owners of Rho 160 and 160 Plus owners will be able to upgrade easily to the 160W Plus.

Scitex
Scitex had their TURBOJet unit on display for the second time. The company tells Digital Output that the beta testing is complete and went very well, and they are now commercially available. The unit is capable of speeds up to 3,000 square feet per hour printing on a wide variety of substrates.

Vutek
Vutek made big news at the show with its new 600 dpi machine, the PressVu UV 200/600 inkjet printer. Priced at only $199,000, this unit opens up a new segment of the market for the company. The unit features many of the innovations Vutek is known for, but has a simpler look and feel to make it more feasible to produce quickly and more cheaply than the traditional Vutek machines. For printers that are looking for hybrid machines capable of flatbed and roll-to-roll printing, this unit comes standard as a flatbed but for $269,000 will do both. It prints up to 350 square feet per hour in both flatbed and roll printing, and will accept media up to two meters wide.

Wasatch
Wasatch Computer Technology released SoftRIP version 5.1 at the show. The new version builds on the architecture of version 5.0 to provide control of the production environment. At the core of SoftRIP 5.1 is the new Live View Master Queues screen for users who want control of their queues without pausing their production.

Nazdar
Nazdar announced distribution agreements with both Roland and Matan. They will sell Roland’s SC540EX and VersaCAMM (SP-300) printer/plotters and Matan’s Spark1612 and Matan Spring12 thermal printers.

GBC
GBC launched a new media line at ISA, including pressure sensitive films, textured canvas and floor mats with less texture than previous versions. The SurePrint line includes both polyester and photobase products in a variety of textures and finishes for multiple applications. This new line will allow the company to offer matched solutions of media and laminate materials that are optimized to work together. GBC has also formulated their material with a backside coating that will help it glide through laminators smoother and easier.

NUR
NUR had several new innovations at its booth this year. Their new ink cabinet works much like a vending machine – NUR installs the unit in the print shop and restocks the ink supplies every month. When ink is needed, the printer can take out only what they need, and the cabinet will automatically transmit that information to NUR, who can then bill automatically, eliminating the need for printers to pay up-front for ink stocks.

The company was also showing their new 16-foot machine that will be capable of printing both eight-color, 720 dpi images, as well as 360 dpi superwide prints at up to 1,900 square feet per hour. According to the company, they took the best features from all of their previous machines and combined them into this one. The printer is scheduled to begin beta testing later this year with commercial shipping planned for early in the fourth quarter of this year.

Noritsu
Noritsu debuted the MYTIS-1 at the show, a high-speed, wide-format inkjet printer system. The unit is a six-color dye ink sublimation printer that can produce 720 dpi prints up to a maximum image size of 48-inches x 16-feet at up to 160 square feet per hour. The unit will accept a variety of substrates, and the company tells us the prints have a 3-5 year outdoor life and do not require lamination.

Sericol
At the Sericol booth, the Inca Digital machines were the hot items, with the new Columbia taking center stage. This digital flatbed press, with a 10-foot vacuum bed, can print up to 1,325 square feet per hour at up to 1,000 dpi. The Inca Columbia, like the Inca Eagle, uses Sericol UV inks and can print on a wide variety of substrates up to 1.5-inches thick.

Oracal
Oracal drew quite a crowd to its booth this year, demonstrating how their media worked in vehicle wrap applications. The company’s new inkjet media selection guide gives a quick overview of its products, and breaks them down by applications, printer compatibility and suggested laminates, giving customers a quick way to choose the complete media package for any application.

Mimaki
Mimaki came to ISA showing off their new white ink. It is a highly opaque ink with what the company calls "remarkable performance" on a variety of substrates, including transparent.

The company also introduced several new UV printers. The UJV-110 is capable of printing at up to 1200x2400 dpi and uses the new white ink. The UJF-605C is a flatbed UV inkjet plotter that prints at up to 1200x2400 dpi and also uses the white ink.

DGI/SIM
Stewards of International Marketing (SIM) and DGI debuted a new line of printers, including the SpaceJet 3250, VTIV-98/62 and VTIII-98DS. The SpaceJet is a 10-foot printer with dual-CMYK print heads. It can print at up to 258 square feet per hour, with a max resolution of 1,200 dpi. The VTIV is a 6-color printer available in both 98- and 62-inch versions. It has a top resolution of 1,100 dpi. And the VTIII is a 98-inch printer with dual CYMK, top speeds of 258 square feet per hour and a max resolution of 1,200 dpi.

MacDermid ColorSpan
MacDermid ColorSpan debuted their new DisplayMaker 72SR flatbed/roll-fed hybrid printer at ISA this year. Retailing for $59,995, this solvent printer is a four-color unit with a cleaning solution on board and an automatic cleaning feature. It can print at speeds of up to 400 square feet per hour, and can print on rigid materials up to 3/16-inches thick and 73-inches wide, as well as a variety of roll-fed materials up to 73-inches wide.

3M
The big news at the 3M booth was their new Performance Guarantee. Covering tested and qualified OEM printers and inks with 3M media, the company now guarantees that the media will "be free of induced artifacts that can cause misprints and guaranteed to adhere to recommended substrates…." Printers already covered in the Guarantee include the Mimaki JV3 series, Mutoh Falcon II Outdoor, Mutoh Toucan and the Roland SOLjet Pro II EX, with more expected in the coming months.

Transilwrap
Transilwrap debuted a line of five low-melting laminating films called DIGIKote at the show. Thin-Gauge is a 1.7-mil gloss; Matte offers glare reduction and comes in 3-mil; Display Lustre is a 6-mil film designed for POP applications; Display White Opaque is a low-melt thermal film that can be printed on both sides and comes in 5- and 10-mil gauges; and Hard Coat Lustre features a UV-cured top coat with scuff and scratch resistance.